1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wing mirror for use in a vehicle, and particularly, to wing mirrors mounted on a car door or a car body to project laterally from both sides thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
A vehicle such as an automobile or a motorcycle mounts two wing mirrors on the vehicle body to project laterally from both sides thereof, and the interval between the two wing mirrors is measured as the maximum width of the vehicle body. At night, in particular, the width of the vehicle body can just be seen with the aid of headlights and taillights, but it is hard to visually confirm the positions of the wing mirrors, thus causing a possible minor collision because pedestrians, bicycles, motorcycles and cars on the opposite lane may collide with the wing mirror.
For avoidance of this kind of collision, there have been proposed wing mirrors which are designed to include light-emitting elements, so as to allow the wing mirrors to radiate at night. For example, Japanese Laid-open Utility Model Publications No. Sho 62(1987)-121141, No. Hei 2(1990)-117936 and No. Hei 6(1994)-81836 propose several types of wing mirrors.
Those examples are designed so that the wing mirror is provided, in an interior or exterior thereof, with a light-emitting element using a light-emitting diode, an electric lamp, an electroluminescense and the like, so that the wing mirror can be lit up to ensure that the position of the projected wing mirror can be visible to pedestrians, bikes and cars on the opposite lane to prevent the minor collision with the wing mirror.
These proposed wing mirrors, which are provided with various kinds of light-emitting elements in the interior of the body case or in the exterior thereof, are all designed such that part of a body case of the wing mirror is made of transparent or translucent material or such that a gap is formed between the mirror and the body case. The wing mirrors thus designed disadvantageously cause some sense of incompatibility due to their appearance, as compared with the existing wing mirrors.
Thus, these conventional type of wing mirrors have the disadvantage of spoiling the total vehicle design or coloring or, in some instances, presenting a poor appearance.